Arlie welcomed Council Member Brian Rex to the commission meeting. He asked each commission member to introduce themselves and tell how long they have been a commission member.

Approval of MinutesA motion was made to approve the minutes of December 13, 2011 by Mary Coleman, Second by Mike Phillips, motion carried.

Overview of Shade Tree Commission (function, etc.)Arlie stated that in the last meeting it was discussed that it would be a good idea if the Shade Tree Commission members began to take a more active role in the running of the commission. He said he would like the meeting to be informal but more organized with congenial discussions. He said that he would somewhat like to follow Robert’s Rules of Order. Arlie asked if anyone had comments. All were in agreement with the direction Arlie wanted to take.

Arbor Day Arlie asked Tyler to comment on this agenda item. Tyler explained that in our previous discussion we had thought we might be able to use Discovery Grove Park for the event. Unfortunately, the park will not be ready. Mary asked if we should open this up to the other schools. Tyler said in the past we did send out requests to the schools and each time Discovery Elementary was the only school to respond.

Jolene mentioned that it seemed to work very well when Mary and Phyllis made an appointment with the principal of Mountain View last year and maybe we could pick another school and commission members could visit with that principal. A discussion followed regarding which school. The commission determined Lakeview Elementary. Phyllis and Mary will make an appointment with the principal.

Jolene stated that she had ordered the saplings which we provide to the 3rd grade students. She asked Tyler if he would like her to also order the arm bands that we passed out last year. The group discussed the armbands and decided this would be a good idea. She will wait until we get confirmation on the school so she will know how many 3rd graders are in the class. Councilmember Rex asked the date of Arbor Day. Jolene replied Friday, April 27th and indicated she would send him an invite for his calendar.

Tree Removal Requests

250 N. 100 W. – Arlie stated that he had been by the property and provided a layout of what he had determined after walking the property and speaking with the contractor. He said the removal of the 4 trees would provide a spacing that looked as though it had been planned. He also said the contractor would be replacing the removed trees with trees on the development property. Mike agreed if they were being removed systematically to look as though it was planned we should allow it. The group agreed.

A motion was made by Mike Phillips to approve the request by Affordable Fencing & Construction, Inc. to remove the 4 trees as described in the tree removal request dated 12-1-11. Second by Mary Coleman, motion carried.

244 S. 100 W. – Arlie asked Jolene to discuss the removal as she had spoken directly with the woman on this request as well as the following request. Jolene explained that Ms. Mathews had contacted her explaining that they lived directly behind the LDS Temple site. She said they are working at beautifying their home which included landscaping and that they were hoping to have this accomplished in the next 3-6 months.

Jolene explained to Ms. Mathews that there are several option outcomes when making a tree removal request. The Shade Tree Commission may say you may remove the tree and we will cover the cost of removal, you may remove the tree at your expense and replace with another on your property or no, you may not remove the tree as it is healthy and not posing a safety threat. Ms. Mathews stated that she would be willing to pay for ½ the cost if not all to get the trees removed.

Arlie asked what the group thought. Tyler stated that the Black Walnut was dead and in the park strip which would be considered unsafe. He said we could remove the tree in house and then have it stumped. Tyler explained to the group that we have expended most of our funds for tree trimming on the trimming of the Ash trees on 2nd East. However, we have removed trees in the parking strip when the tree is manageable and not too large for City crews to handle.

A motion was made by Mike Phillips to approve the removal of the dead Black Walnut tree and because of the condition of the tree and due to safety concerns this will be handled in house by the Public Works Department, second by IvaBeth Wilcox, motion carried.

Jolene stated that the second tree is a Horse Chestnut which is healthy and in the park strip. It is very large and very messy and she would like to remove it and if not it does need a healthy trimming of the lower limbs. Arlie said according to Tyler’s previous statement there isn’t funding available to remove such a large healthy tree. A discussion followed regarding the health and size of the tree. Phyllis asked if Ms. Mathews could remove the tree at her expense. Mike said he hates to see a good healthy tree removed, but if she were to replace it with another tree, we win. The group felt that she could replace it with a like species in the park strip.

A motion was made by Phyllis Nielson to allow the homeowner to remove the tree at her own expense and replace with a 2” caliper Maple of the same species of the trees in her park strip, second by IvaBeth Wilcox, motion carried.

Constitution Park – Globe Willow Tree – Tyler passed out pictures of the tree in question at Constitution Park that needs to be removed. The commission members had been by to look at the tree and agreed it should be removed. Tyler said that we will replace with another tree in the park once the removal has been accomplished.

A motion was made by IvaBeth Wilcox, to remove the Globe Willow tree at Constitution Park and replace it with a better species in a more appropriate are in the park, 2nd by Mary Coleman, motion carried.

Other

Arlie stated the next meeting will fall on Valentine’s Day and suggested it be moved to Wednesday, February 15th.

A motion was made by Mike Phillips to move February’s
meeting to February 15th for next month, second by Mary

Coleman, motion carried.

Tyler passed out an email that he received from the Mayor regarding the trees at the LDS Temple Site. He said we really don’t need a lengthy discussion he only wanted the group to know that the LDS church landscaping may change a bit in regards to the request of tree removal. He said when we get the formal request we will have a better idea on how to move forward. If we get further information we will inform the commission members.